Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 94: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

» ae, 92 Ward came up and spoke to him he hurried - forward to explain to the men with him. “Mr. Greiner came down on the train ahead of the one we expected him on,” he -told Ward in low tones, as they walked along. ‘He sent us down here on the earlier one so we could take up our positions along this road. One of these men knew the country well and described it to him. These men are from the constable’s office at the Junction. Mr. Greiner made the arrangement with them.” “What is his plan?” Ward asked. “He didn’t want us to come with him be- cause he felt certain that these fellows have got their camp somewhere in the woods here. He said one or two of them would be certain to come to the station to meet him and lead him to the camp. Whatever they intend to do to him they would do there, he says, because they would have everything prepared to get away and cover their tracks. So he got us to scout around until we saw which way the men came from, and then hide so as to follow them and him. Weain’t to interfere until he yells for us.” “T see,’ said Ward. ‘Does he think Stephen Blaydon is here?” “Yes; and that fat party with the puffy breath. He says this dark man you’ve been wondering about is known in New York as ‘Joe.’ He’s a Mexican Indian, and it seems he’s done several shady jobs for the fat lady. They came from the same part of the West. He’s a real bad man, Greiner says.” “What does he think they are doing with Mr. Conway?” “He thinks Joe’s got him and is going to knife him. He says it’s evidently all a part of Blaydon’s scheme, but Nigger Joe don’t belong to the other crowd.” “T see; his specialty is to remove Mr. Conway and Mr. Greiner.” They followed the light cautiously along - the road for nearly a mile. Then the men ahead turned off and plunged into the forest to the east, threading their way among the trees and through the underbrush, so that silent pursuit became more and more diffi- cult. At length one of the men gave a low whis- tle which was answered almost at once from out of the darkness ahead. Instantly a patch of light, oblong in shape, glowed from among the trees—an opened doorway in a shack of some kind. Adventure " Ward expected that now, at last, Greiner would give the signal for an attack, but he did not. Instead, he went calmly with his guides into the shack, the door was closed, and the forest once more became impene- trably dark. ‘There must be a window somewhere,” Ward whispered, as his companions gath- ered about for consultation. “It may be boarded up, but in a tumble-down shack of this kind there are sure to be chinks through which we can look.” ‘‘We’d better do it, too,” said one of the men from the Junction. “Seems t’ me Greiner’s takin’ an awful chance goin’ in thataway.” “Come on then,” Ward said, but as they began to creep forward they halted at the sound of sudden scuffling inside the shack, and the curses of a man’s voice. “Quick!”’? Ward commanded in a whisper. They stole around to the back of the shack and here, through a chink in a boarded-up window they could see a thin streak of light. Ward tiptoed up to it and looked through. 7 In the glow of the two lanterns the sight that met his gaze made his muscles sud- denly grow tense. Greiner was struggling to free himself from two of the men, while the third was circling about, trying to get an opening to deal the detective a blow on the head with the butt of a revolver. One man, swarthy and beetle-browed, had attacked Greiner from behind. His left arm was about his victim’s throat, his right hand clamped over the mouth to prevent an out- cry. Ward knew him at once for Joe. The second man had ducked under Joe’s attack, and had clasped Greiner’s legs in his two huge arms. struggling form from the floor as Ward looked in. ‘“‘Come on, men,” Ward whispered. ‘“To the front quick. Break the doorin. Carter, you stay at this window with your gun. If the door proves too strong, and they start to shoot, drop them from behind.” He led the way around to the front, throwing all caution to the wind in his haste to save Greiner. Turning ten feet from the door he rushed for it with all his force, leaped bodily into the air, and crashed against it, shoulder first, with his full weight. . With a loud splintering of wood, it gave and fellinward. Ward heard the frightened — He was lifting the (E@) COMIC OOOKS